


Coronation

by kuruk



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-11
Updated: 2012-11-11
Packaged: 2017-11-18 10:11:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/559836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuruk/pseuds/kuruk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The crown whispers, and Finn understands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coronation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nonakani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonakani/gifts).



> who I had a wonderful discussion with about the Season Five premiere. We share a love for Finn Mertens and wish to see his timeline expanded, and I simply couldn't contain my feelings here.
> 
> Warnings for Season Five premiere ("Finn the Human/Jake the Dog" half-hour special) spoilers.

The crown whispers, and Finn understands.

He can feel himself crystallizing, solidifying into something that’s more _him_ than he ever could have hoped to be alone. Doubt and trepidation are buried under layers of frost; fear and guilt are transmuted into the wind itself, whirling and howling beneath the guidance of his fingertips. This feels good, better than peeing outside or strapping a blade to his prosthetic arm. Natural and deliciously raw, the frost biting into his skin and peeling it back.

For the first time in his entire life, everything is clear.

The bomb went off—and, that’s _his_ fault, all Finn’s fault, that stupid donkus—but he can fix it. He can fix the sky that writhes and screams and the barren earth that has gone silent. He can make it so that there are no roaring, consumptive fires ever again, no more Destiny Gangs or careless little boys who lose their limbs. Even Jake—whose eyes glow with a malevolence the same color as the clouds, his body mangled and skeletal and horned like the demons from Pop’s stories—yes, even he can be saved.

He can reach out and cover the whole world with a blanket of ice. Tuck it in, keep it calm, put it to sleep. Make it so that the frost’s whispers swell into a lullaby that everyone can hear.

Finn wants that. Oh, he wants that ever so much. If they sleep, they’ll be safe. Only he can make it happen, only he can keep them safe from each other, themselves, him.

 _It must be this way_ , the crown whispers, and Finn repeats it aloud in a high, tremulous voice. He laughs so hard he sobs, his tears freezing on his cheeks. The whispers beckon, and he obeys, the hair underneath his cap flapping and kicking up a frigid gust that lifts him into the air.

Oh, how he wishes Mama and Pop and Bartram could see him now. Him, their little Finn Mertens, who would run barefoot in the wintertime. Their clumsy oaf of a boy, one-armed and simple and barely literate. _Look at me now,_ he shouts over the howl of the blizzard. _I’m a_ king _!_

For now, Jake will have to suffice.

His old friend is still cackling when he finally freezes over, his face fixed in a rictus of malice. His eyes are on Finn though, watching his ascent with rapt, captivated attention.

Finn screams and laughs and cries, all at once, until he vomits slush.


End file.
